The lesson here is that the prime feature of political decision-making is that it’s a zero-sum game. One person’s gain is of necessity another person’s loss. As such, political allocation of resources is conflict-enhancing, while market allocation is conflict-reducing.
The greater the number of decisions made in the political arena, the greater the potential for conflict.
Walter E. Williams speaking on why political action committees, private donors and companies spend billions of dollars lobbying. Their goal is to get politicians and government officials to use the coercive power of their offices to take what belongs to one American and give it to another.
The most important thing this congress and Obama can do for the American people to minimize the potential for abuse, conflict and violence is to reduce the size and impact of government in our lives.
